Putin sidesteps question on North Korean soldiers training in Russia

‘Images are a serious matter. If images exist, they indicate something,’ Putin says when asked by reporter about satellite imagery apparently showing North Korean troops in Russia

Vladimir Putin did not deny reports that North Korea sent troops to Russia to join the Russian president’s war in Ukraine but instead pointed to his country’s recent military treaty with Pyongyang which deals with mutual defence.

Mr Putin was asked by a reporter about satellite imagery apparently showing North Korean troops operating in Russia at a news conference on Thursday during the end of the Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan.

"Images are a serious matter. If images exist, they indicate something,” Mr Putin said. He went on to attack the US for “escalating tensions in Ukraine” and denounced “direct involvement of Nato troops” in the conflict.

On Friday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was planning to deploy trained North Korean troops to the battlefield starting 27-28 October, citing intelligence reports. The previous intelligence report said the North Korean troops’ presence was recorded in the Kursk region this week.

The US said for the first time on Wednesday it had evidence that 3,000 North Korean troops were in Russia for possible deployment against the Ukrainian army as the Kremlin’s prolonged war enters its third year, citing information from declassified intelligence.

On the question of North Korea’s engagement with Russia, he referred to the treaty on Strategic Partnership which was ratified by the lower house of parliament on Thursday.

"As for our relationship with North Korea, we ratified our Treaty on Strategic Partnership, which contains Article 4,” he said.

“We have never doubted the fact that North Korean leadership is very serious about their commitments to us and engagement with that,” Mr Putin added.

Article 4 of the “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty obliges the two countries to immediately provide military assistance using “all means” if either is attacked.

The treaty was signed between Russia and North Korea during Mr Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June, marking the strongest link between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.

“However, it is up to us to decide what we will do and how we are going to do it, and we will act in accordance with this article,” he said.

“First, we need to hold talks regarding the implementation of Article 4. However, we will be in contact with our North Korean friends to see how this process unfolds,” he added.

In a separate statement to Russian state television, Mr Putin said if Ukraine wanted to join Nato then Moscow could do what it wanted to ensure its own security.

“When we have to decide something, we will decide... but it is our sovereign decision whether we will apply it, whether we will not, whether we need it,” he said.

Mr Putin said that the West repeatedly backed Ukraine on how it ensured its security “with or without Nato”.

“The sooner they realise the futility of such an approach in relations with Russia, the better it will be for everyone, and perhaps, above all, for themselves [Ukraine],” Mr Putin said.

South Korea’s spy chief told lawmakers that at least 3,000 North Korean troops are being trained to use equipment including drones before being they’re sent to fight in Ukraine. The intelligence agency assessed that North Korea aimed to deploy a total of 10,000 troops to Russia by December.

A video, reportedly verified by Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, showed a long line of soldiers queuing to pick up bags, clothes and other apparel from Russian servicemen in Russia’s Far East.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said: “There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia,” referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“If they are co-belligerents – if their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf – that is a very, very serious issue. It will have impacts, not only in Europe. It will also impact things in the Indo-Pacific as well,” he said.

Ukraine’s military intelligence service said the first units of North Korean soldiers were likly deployed in the Kursk region where the Ukrainian forces launched a major incursion in August.

“On 23 October 2024, their presence was recorded in the Kursk region,” the Ukrainian intelligence agency said in a statement.

Ukraine said it had launched an investigation into North Korea’s military support to Russia in the war “as a possible crime of aggression”.

“We are documenting and collecting evidence of all possible aspects of such involvement as part of the core proceeding on the crime of aggression,” the office said in a statement.

Aspects of the alleged crime include supplying arms to the Russian Federation, organising training for Russian military personnel and direct participation by North Korean forces in hostilities, it said.